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SIFA 2014: Brecht it down, Peter Pan

SINGAPORE — Peter Pan is magic.

Peter Pan by Robert Wilson, CocoRosie and the Berliner Ensemble is the ultimate SIFA blockbuster. Photo: Lucie Jansch.

Peter Pan by Robert Wilson, CocoRosie and the Berliner Ensemble is the ultimate SIFA blockbuster. Photo: Lucie Jansch.

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SINGAPORE — Peter Pan is magic.

Yes, the exceptional triumvirate of Robert Wilson, Berliner Ensemble and CocoRosie has given the new-look festival its blockbuster — and the whimsical musical has elbowed its way to the top of my fest picks, together with Oedipus and Nikhil Chopra’s performance.

Like my venue issue with Facing Goya, I was skeptical about whether the Drama Centre was the right place for a production that on paper screamed Esplanade Theatre or something as grand. Which is being revamped in the first place, so no point. And anyway, it turned out to be a non-issue when you’re well on your way to Neverland.

Here’s JM Barrie’s classic tale filtered through a goth-punk-New Wave-German Expressionist-Surrealist aesthetic. Forget the Disney version, the mood here is darker, the humour slightly off, the characters have got issues and are naughtier.

Our titular boy-who-refuses-to-grow-up, played by Sabin Tambrea, is imagined as some androgynous Bowie-esque pretty-boy hipster in skinny jeans with a bit of edge to him. Captain Hook’s gang of pirates channel looks out of Hotel Transylvania while Pan’s Lost Boys are the Stray Cats reincarnated. The crocodile, the mermaids, the “Red Indians” are all present and accounted for — and the show’s rotund Tiger Lily gets special mention, jumping straight out of The Lion King set, doing tai-chi moves while singing nonsense. Plus, she’s a he — Georgios Tsivanoglou, who I can imagine doing a kick-ass haka.

But the best of the lot has got to be crowd fave Tinkerbell, the ultimate spastic jester who pines for Peter Pan. Like Tinkerbell, here’s another guy, Christopher Nell, playing a female character. A fairy to be precise.

And then there is the music of CocoRosie.

Yes, it’s a top-notch Wilson show but methinks the American freak-folk experimental duo should get equal credit for shaping this vision. Their playful and completely infectious tunes and soundscapes jump from genre to genre, haphazardly throwing together everything from plinks and plonks to Middle Eastern lilts to African rhythms to Tom Waits-ish oompah band vibes.

And naturally, props to the band, The Dark Angels, and the music directors. If there’s a copy of the OST, I want one.

That said, it’s impossible not to experience this as a whole. Everything just comes together: The constant glowing light changes and the sets transport you in the best possible way — it may all be OTT but it’s the subtle things that suggest and prod you forward, whether it’s being underwater or flying in the air or onboard a ship.

While keeping audiences on their toes. This is Brecht’s theatre company, after all, so there’s a nice tug of war between being swept away by a make-believe story and being aware that it’s, well, make-believe: The constant shift between English and German, a stagehand dragging someone away, the abrupt, nonchalant scene and mood changes, even the early pre-show scene involving a sculpture of a kid and his shadow.

When you’re at a certain age, it’s hard to capture that authentic feeling of wonder and discovery one experiences as a child. Often, when we say that, it’s more of a wistful yearning—you’re remembering how it was to feel that way. In this Peter Pan, that sensation is happening in real-time. There’s no “child in you” when you’re watching this musical. You *are* that child.

Peter Pan is sold out. But you can try your luck by hanging out at the FOH counter at Drama Centre at around 7.30pm for any returns. Payment by cash only. For more festival details, visit https://sifa.sg.

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Meanwhile, if you’re looking ahead to next week’s Wooster Group show, there will be a talk with founding member Elizabeth LeCompte and other members on Sept 20, noon, at SOTA Studio Theatre. Go here for deets: https://sifa.sg/media/sifa-shares-6.html

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